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Protest break out after Daunte Wright is shot and killed by Minneapolis police

Jesse Williams

By Jesse Williams

Jesse Williams

12 Apr 2021

Protests have taken place after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis.

Some reports suggest Wright, 20, was pulled over due to an air fresheners on his rear view mirror whilst others cloak he had  “an outstanding warrant”. Following the interaction with police he was shot getting back into his car and drivinv away before crashing, dying at the scene.

The father of the deceased, Aubrey Wright, 42, told the press that his son had recently asked his mother for $(0 to get his recently purchased car washed, and was headed there when he was shot.

The suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Mr Wright claims to have meant to fire a Taser but instead made an “accidental discharge” from her gun, police said.

Police Chief Tim Gannon played an unedited clip of police body camera video showing the fatal exchange which shows two officers approach the vehicle — one on each side. The third officer approaches later as the two attempt to handcuff Wright and he struggles with the third officer threatening to taser Wright before firing.

With tensions already high in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where former police officer Derek Chauvin stands trial for the murder and manslaughter of Mr Floyd, hundreds gathered in protest that night.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear were used to disperse protesters who had gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department building.

“Nothing has fundamentally changed since the killing of George Floyd. Nothing,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations told The Washington Post Monday. “Police officers can still do whatever they’ve been doing without any measure of accountability.”

Wright, who had a two-year-old son, dropped out of high school about two years ago because of a learning disability and worked in retail and fast-food restaurants to support his son. He planned to go back to school to get his GED.

“I know my son. He was scared. He still [had] the mind of a 17-year-old because we babied him,” Aubrey Wright said. “If he was resisting an arrest, you could Tase him. I don’t understand it.”

“He was a great kid. He was a normal kid. He was never in serious trouble. He enjoyed spending time with his two-year-old son. He loved his son”.

The investigation is being led by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension however there are calls for a separate body to carry out an independent inquiry.

This is a developing story.

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